Give You Back
by VinnyLB
Summary: Zee and Ro unexpectedly find Ro's biological mother. Now, she has to choose between her family and Zee.


Give You Back   
by Vanessa

Disclaimer: _I don't own The Zeta Project or any of its characters. If I did, there would be episodes like this story. Ooo, but I did come up with a name for Ro's mother! That's mine!_   
Notes: _This story has been edited. It was originally a songfic, but since FFnet has suddenly decided songfics are against the rules, the lyrics to Vertical Horizon's "Give You Back" have been removed. The original will be posted at tzpnosis dot com soon. (For some reason, website URLS also don't work anymore._

Zeta held Ro close as they trudged through the feet of snow. He had raised his own body temperature, but it still didn't seem to be helping her. She was slowing down, becoming weaker, and as they moved on, Zee was getting as close to being angry as a robot could. He could understand why Bennet was hunting him down, but why let Ro suffer just because she wanted to help him? 

But it wasn't Bennet's fault. Not really. It was his own fault for involving her in the first place. His anger turned to guilt, and he scooped the girl up into his arms. "I'll carry you the rest of the way, to the next town," he told her quietly. 

She snuggled into his jacket and smiled up at him. "You're blaming yourself again, Zee. Don't do that."   
"Okay," he replied, unable to keep a small smile from his face. She knew him all too well. 

Ro seemed to feel better as they walked on. She stayed close to him, watching the road ahead for any trace of a town. Near dark, the first glimmer of light appeared in the distance, and by dark, they reached it. It was a small house just outside of town. Snow was beginning to fall, and a blonde woman was standing on the front porch, watching it.. She saw them approaching, Ro asleep in Zeta's arms. To her, the girl looked unconscious. 

"Oh my God," she muttered, running out into the yard to meet them. "Is she okay?"   
Zeta regarded the woman with suspicion. "She's fine. She's just sleeping. It's a long way between towns." 

"You walked all this way? In the snow?" She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the porch. "Let's get you inside," she said. "The girl could use some rest." Something about the woman made him think that no matter what he said, he and Ro would be going inside anyway. 

"So, what are your names?" she asked once they were sitting down inside. Zeta sat on the couch; Ro was still asleep, here head in his lap. "Where did you come from?" 

"My name is Zee. I'm from Gotham City. Ro's from Spring City."   
"That's a long way from here," the woman commented. "What brought you all this way?" 

"Ro is helping me look for my... parents." Somehow, telling her that they were looking for his _creator_ while running from the government didn't seem like such a good idea, so it was necessary to make some things up. "I've never met them." 

"I see..." She looked somewhat uncomfortable with the subject and quickly changed it. "How rude of me. I know both your names and I haven't even told you mine! I'm Susan. Susan Rowan." 

The unflappable synthoid was startled. He glanced from Susan to Ro and back again. Why had he not noticed the resemblance earlier? The same smirk, the same persistent nature-- she even _looked_ like an older Ro! "Rowan..." was all he could think to stammer. 

"Yes, Rowan." She paused. "Have we met?" 

"No." He shook his head and looked down at Ro. "The name just seems familiar." It was possible that he had inadvertently found one of Ro's relatives, maybe even her biological mother, and if it were true, he knew what he had to do. 

When Ro woke the next morning, she was surprised to find herself in a house, on a couch, using Zee as a pillow as he stared blankly down at her. "Where are we, Zee?" she asked, sitting up and stretching. 

"We're... at someone's house. She found us walking towards town last night and offered to help."   
"That was nice." She stood and looked at him expectantly. "Well, let's get moving before Bennet finds us."   
"Her name is Susan Rowan."   
"Okay, but we have to--" She stopped abruptly. "Did you say Rowan?"   
"Yes." He lowered his head. "I think she may be one of your relatives. Possibly even your real mother."   
Ro sat back down, stunned. "No... I can't believe it. This must be a coincidence." 

"You should talk to her. That's the only way you'll find out." She looked away and sighed. How could she explain her reasons to him? How could he possibly understand that they were talking about her _mother_, the person who had abandoned her in the first place? On the other hand, she had the opportunity to find out why she had been abandoned. She had a chance to meet her mother, her family. Wasn't that one of the reasons she was traveling with Zee, to find out about her past? "You'll never forgive yourself if you don't," he said quietly. 

She sighed. He was right, as always. "Fine. I'll talk to her." She hugged him, and to his surprise, briefly kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, and headed to the kitchen. 

Zee smiled as she left, but once she was out of the room, the smile faded. He stood up. "Goodbye, Ro," he murmured, and walked out the door. 

Susan smiled brightly when Ro walked into the kitchen. "Good morning!" 

_This can't be my mother_, she thought, rolling her eyes. _She's too... chipper_. But she had to admit, there was a resemblance between the two of them. What was she going to say to this woman? She must've gone over the speech in her head a thousand times before, but she had forgotten it all when she actually saw Susan. "Tell me about Rosalie Rowan," she blurted 

The woman froze, but only for a moment, and then immediately resumed cooking breakfast. "I'm sorry, I don't know anyone named Rosalie Rowan." 

Ro was too smart to fall for that, though. "It's true, isn't it? Zee was right. You're my mother."   
"My God..." Susan's hand clapped over her mouth. "Rosalie..." she managed to whisper. "How... how did you find me?" 

"It was an accident..." Ro couldn't stop shaking. She had found her mother! All of her time spent with Zeta had paid off, and she had found her real mother... So why didn't she feel happier? Why did she feel so disappointed? 

Susan was laughing and crying at the same time, and she reached out to hug her daughter. "We can talk about that later, Rosalie. You're here now, that's all that matters. And everything will be fine now." 

Ro looked away. "Yeah..." 

Zee looked back at the house he had left and smiled to himself. It was fitting that, in the search for his creator, Ro should find her own family. He had left without saying goodbye, without telling her where he was going. Her search was over, but his would continue, and he wouldn't have to worry about endangering her life anymore. Maybe, one day, once he had won his freedom he would see her again... 

But as he walked further from Susan Rowan's house, the memories of Ro became stronger. 

He remembered the day he had met her, and saved her from the gang, and in turn she had saved him from Agent Bennet and the NSA. She could have taken the money and left, never looked back... but she didn't. She had gone back to him. 

Ro had taught him more about humanity than anything. She taught him how to take the time to enjoy life, how to "blend in," and how to cope with the new feelings that weren't part of his program. He wished that she could be with him now, to tell him what this strange new feeling was. He didn't want to leave her behind, but he knew he had to... because he cared about her. 

Ro and her mother stepped back into the living room, where Zeta had been waiting. "Okay, Zee, you can stop gloating now, you were right--" She stopped. Zeta wasn't there. "Where is he?" she asked. 

"He was right in here..." 

She paid no attention, but walked through the small room, looking down the hallway, hoping to see him. "Zee? Hey, Zee, are you there?" But there was no answer. He wasn't there. 

"That's funny," Susan commented. "I'm sure he wouldn't have left without you..." 

And it hit her. Zeta _would_ have left without her. It was the way he was. She had found her place, or so he thought, and there was no need for her to travel with him anymore. Her eyes filled with tears. Zeta was gone... He didn't need her anymore... 

Susan noticed the tears falling down her daughter's face. She stared at the girl for a moment. All that time she had hoped that Rosalie would find her way back home, and now she was there. But she knew Ro would never be happy. "Go after him," she said quietly. Ro looked up at her, surprised, and Susan smiled. "He still needs your help. When he finds what he's looking for... then you can come back home." 

Ro hesitated, then threw her arms around Susan. "Thank you, Mom." 

An old man sat on a bench at the bus stop, completely oblivious to the snow falling around him. He stared down the empty, frozen street, waiting for the bus to take him away from the city. There was a sad look on his face, and it seemed that tears would form in his blue eyes, but he couldn't cry. 

"So... you haven't left yet?" His head turned slightly at the familiar voice. A young blonde girl stood behind the bench, gazing down at him with an equally sad expression. "I'm glad... I thought you were gone." 

The image of the old man faded, and Zeta returned to his normal appearance. "How did you know it was me?" 

She shrugged, lowering her eyes to the icy pavement. "I dunno. I guess I've just known you long enough to recognize you in any disguise." 

"You shouldn't be here, Ro." He stood and faced her. "You should be with your mother. You belong there."   
She glared at him. "We've gone over this before, tin man. Don't tell me where I belong."   
"Ro--" 

"Zeta," she said quietly, stepping towards him. She slid her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. "I don't belong anywhere except with you." 

Slowly, he began to smile. He had wanted to give her back to her mother, but he could see that it would be impossible. Ro would decide where she wanted to be, and it seemed that she had decided. And some selfish part of him was glad that she had chosen him. He hugged her tightly and closed his eyes, letting the strange new emotion take over, and somehow knowing that it was called "love." Then, finally, he pulled away from her. "Ro?" 

"Hmm?" 

"We're never going to find Doctor Selig if we keep standing here." 

She laughed and looped her arm through his, and the bus pulled up beside the bench. Hand in hand, Zeta and Ro boarded the bus, on their way to find Doctor Selig. For Zeta, the search for his creator and for his freedom had to continue. But Ro's search had really ended the day she had saved a robot from the NSA. 

sigh Okay, I know, that was pure sap. But, hey, I'm a shipper! Besides, I had soooo much writer's block when I wrote this story. And I'm never happy with my fics by the time they're finished... Reply! Review! Flame if you want, but I'll probably just ignore it! 


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